Last week was an exciting time for ASI Canada! I spent the week along with Fred Oesen, Vice President of ASI Canada (former founder of Team Task Force) and Jay Ostrow, Director of ASI Canada Sales, transversing the beautiful Canadian countryside, talking to ASI Canada members at the Fall Supplier Seminars.

ASI Canada in Winnipeg

Alex Morin, from Debco Bag, presents a new exclusive offering of Christmas bags.

What an invigorating week, from Winnipeg to Vancouver…meeting Canadian distributors and suppliers from coast-to-coast, listening to business plans, opportunities and challenges and providing ASI-driven solutions from a host of ASI Canada products and services.

The seminars were fast-paced and informative product presentations from Canadian suppliers, delivered to distributors at round tables of twelve. Every twenty minutes, distributors would shift tables, bringing suppliers a fresh audience. Suppliers that presented included:

Jim Mitchell from Spector and Company

BIC Graphic Canada

ESP Promo

Elision Technology Inc.

Paul Bami, from Karans Leather

Canada Sportswear

Sergio Munoz, from Precidio

Wally Richards, from Capco Sportswear

Jeff Firkser, from St. Regis Crystal

Alex Morin, from Debco Bag & Umbrella

Jody Caplan, from The Bag Man

From Calgary….

Distributors at the Calgary Fall Supplier Presentation with Canada Sportswear display in the background.

Some of the new products that caught my eye as big sellers this year, were featured in an article by the Edmonton Journal, are:

Attendance escalated as the temperature dropped, going from 82 attendees in Winnipeg to 120+ in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. And as we moved across the country, Fall unfolded itself, as autumn days turned to frost swept nights.

My best friend acaullty got her lotion and soap business into Rite-Aids. She set up her own personal website and did it from home for about 5 /6 years. When she got big enough she was featured on the local news and gave “samples” to the news people who then in turn raved about it. Rite-Aide saw, and contacted her. She got a lawyer and they hashed out financial crap. The only difference was that instead of making it at home, she had to use their facilities for FDA compliance/safety crap which took out of her net for each product BUT she was exposed to a lot more consumers so it all made up for itself. Basically, you have to show that your products are worth stocking on their shelves before they are willing to do so, especially if you would be considered an “independent contractor” They aren’t going to do it and take up room on their shelves without a few years of sales proof and growth charts.